Starscream's Help
by im-a-knockout
Summary: A Transformers Armada story Starscream is left seriously wounded on the battlefield, unable to fly. Two mechs from the Autobot's side discover him and the seeker's life now rests with them.
1. Chapter 1

Hello guys! I hope you like this story. I started it a long time ago and came back to finish it off recently.

Enjoy!

-this is comms-

The battle was a long and exhausting one. Optimus Prime stood amongst the battle ground, watching as his soldiers picked themselves up and marched their way back to base.

Prime stood watch until every one of his men were headed home, as he turned to follow them, he heard a long and low keen in the smoke that was yet to settle. Intrigued, he went to follow the sound. Red Alert, who had picked up on his leader's movement, came to his side to assist,

"Where are you going?"

"Listen, Red" prime murmured,

Their pace slowed as the two mechs heard the sound. Red Alert's medical instincts took over and he lead them towards the sound, cautiously.  
As the smoke cleared, both froze and watched with caution. There, in the distance, was a certain young seeker, struggling to get to his feet. Optimus and Red Alert both gasped as they took in the state of the flier's wings.

-Even if he got to his feet, there is no way he can fly-

The Prime nodded and started to approach the mech,

"Starscream?" Optimus called calmly,

The response he got was a panicked stare and a pained whine,

"Let us help you"

"I don't need your help!" Starscream spat

"Well, I believe you do"

Optimus sighed and crouched near to the seeker. Red Alert tried to get closer to help the grounded flier but he was awarded with a growl and bared fangs.

"I'm only trying to help"

The medic kneeled by him, moving in again, desperate to help.

Surprising the Prime and medic, the angsty flier went slack, submissing to the worried servos of Red Alert.

Starscream was not listening by this point, in too much agony to care, he whined and let himself slip in to recharge


	2. Chapter 2

(thoughts)

When Starscream's optics came online, he just about had a spark attack! He stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Unable to feel his wings, he felt his intakes rapidly increase and his optics swam. A loud ringing pierced his audio receptors.

He felt servos helping him up into a sitting position, a voice was telling him to calm down but how could he! His wings were gone, he didn't know where he was and he was burning! He panted.

"Come on, Starscream"

A voice interrupted his rushed thoughts, he fought to focus on that.

"Deep breaths, come on"

He tried

"That's it, slower now"

He obeyed

A blue blur came into his vision,

(Red Alert, the Autobot medic)

Another blur joined the other one catching his attention, bigger, blue and red

(Prime)

He didn't know what to do, he was too exhausted to try and get up and besides, he didn't feel threatened.

He flinched when he felt servos on his face but he suddenly felt safe. His body went limp and he was laid back down.

"Shhh, shh, Starscream" Optimus cooed

The prime looked over the flier with pity filled optics. He couldn't understand why any leader would leave a soldier on the battlefield, especially when they were this injured. Optimus hated Megatron, not only for his cause and what he does to his mechs but also for they way Megatron treats his own soldiers. Especially this youngling.

Optimus watched as Starscream's tears stopped and fell into recharge. He looked to his medic, who sighed,

"He's stable, for now"

"Good. Well done"

Red Alert gave a small smile at the praise.

"Why don't you go and get some rest, Red. I'll watch over him."

Red Alert gratefully nodded,

"Thank you. But call me if anything changes"

"Will do."

As the medic left the medbay, Optimus got comfortable on the chair at Starscream's berth side. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

Optimus jumped awake, not realising he had fallen into recharge in the first place. He looked at the seeker, wondering what had awoken him. He studied Starscream for a while, noticing the distressed look on the fliers' faceplates.

The Prime startled as Starscream flinched rather violently, a loud keen forced Optimus into action. Placing a cautious servo on Starscream's helm, Optimus tried to calm the agitated flier,

"Easy there. It's alright."

Starscream's optics snapped open. Trying to scramble away, his back hit the wall and he screamed.

The Autobot leader reached our hesitantly, unsure how to proceed as the seeker started to hyperventilate.

"Ssh, it's okay, Starscream. I know you're scared but nothing will harm you here , I promise"

Optimus hoped he was getting through to him. Deciding that Red Alert would be better at handling the situation, he comm'd him,

-Red Alert. It's Starscream. He's awake.-

The panicked tone of his leader made the medic jump, fully awake,

-I'm coming-

Optimus watched helplessly as the scared seeker brought his knees up to his chest, burying his helm and sobbed.

Red Alert opened the medbay door quietly, not wanting to distress his patient any further. The medic frowned as he noticed the state Starscream was in.

Approaching slowly, Red Alert sat on the chair that Optimus once occupied,

"Hey, Starscream. It's Red Alert."

The medic sighed when there was no response other than a sob.

"I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong"

Starscream hiccuped and shivered. The flier whispered, just loud enough to hear,

"'My w...wings, w...where..."

He trailed off with a sob

"I'm repairing them Starscream. I promise, I'll reattach them as soon as I can."

Starscream looked at the medic, helpless,

"...promise?"

"I promise"

A moment of silence passed between the three mechs before Starscream spoke in a timid voice, which surprised both older mechs.

"Will I not go mad? He said s...seekers needed their w..wings. I don't w...want to go mad. P...please..."

He hiccuped and buried his helm further into his arms. Red Alert looked at him, confused,

"No, Starscream. I promise you won't go mad. Who in Primus' name told you that?"

"M...Megatron said that he w...would take my w...wings as punishment. H..he said he would watch in d...delight as I go m..mad."

The broken seeker shook as he sobbed silently.

The older mechs bristled. Red Alert calmed himself before sitting next to the younger on the berth. The medic put an arm around the seeker,

"I promise that doesn't happen. Don't listen to Megatron. He gets pleasure from creating fear."

He felt Starscream nod, finally quieting. Red Alert removed himself from the berth, directing his patient to lie back down.

As Starscream got comfortable, Optimus found a tarp and laid it over the flier. His thumb wiping away the tears that remained on the young seekers face.

Starscream sighed and went limp, falling into recharge.

"His core temperature has spiked again. I will take a turn of monitoring him, Optimus"

"Call me in a few hours, we'll take turns, it's still late."

Red Alert nodded and Optimus left. The medic continued to monitor the seeker's condition.


	4. Chapter 4

Red Alert looked up from his data pad as Optimus entered the medbay,

"Has that been three hours already? I hadn't noticed."

Optimus smiled, placing a servo on Red Alert's shoulder,

"You must have gotten lost in the data pad."

Red Alert grinned and stretched, allowing the Prime to take watch,

"He's only awoken a few times but he's fallen back into recharge pretty quickly. He shouldn't give you too much trouble."

"Brilliant."

The Prime smiled as he wished Red Alert a good recharge. Optimus started to work on some of the paperwork he had yet to catch up on.  
He lifted his helm from the data pad as he heard Starscream sigh and shift. He was surprised to see that the seeker had his optics online, looking at him.  
The leader of the Autobots smiled at the poorly seeker and was pleasantly amused as the downed flier returned a shy smile back.

"How are you feeling, Starscream?"

"...sore and tired but okay, thank you."

Optimus was surprised at the polite reply but didn't show the seeker that,

"I can give you a painkiller injection."

Starscream nodded, grateful,

"Thank you"

Optimus got the injection ready, just like Red Alert had shown him. Starscream held out his wrist, allowing the prime to inject him with the much needed painkiller.

"That should start to work shortly."

The seeker gave a nod before whispering,

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

The Prime looked at the youngling, rather confused,

"You shouldn't have helped me. I don't deserve it."

"You know that I believe that every mech deserves a second chance."

"Yeah, I know."

Starscream shifted into a more comfortable position on his side,

"I never could understand why you Autobots believed that."

Optimus grinned

Starscream smiled before yawning.

"Perhaps it's best that you got some more recharge."

The seeker pulled the tarp tightly around him and curled up on his side, facing Optimus, his back pressed against the wall.  
Yawning again, he whispered, shyly,

"Night."

As his optics started to offline he heard the Prime's soft reply,

"Good night, Starscream."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Help

\dream sequence/

\ He could feel every punch, kick and hurtful word that was spat at him. He tried to scramble away from the tyrant that stormed towards him. His back hit something solid and he whimpered as his leader advanced, grinning cruelly,

"Stay away from me! Get back!"

He put his servos up to his helm, as he heard his attacker laugh, protecting himself from the inevitable assault.  
He went stock still as he heard a voice in the distance,

"Easy, it's alright. No one's coming to get you"

Fearfully he looked up to find his attacker gone, he sobbed, his helm falling back on to the wall.

"Come on, Starscream. Wake up" /

As Starscream abruptly sat up, Red Alert sighed but jumped as the seeker started to scream again,

"P...please! Look! He pointed, trembling horrifically. "Please d...don't let him n...near me! PLEASE!"

Both mechs, and the spectators who had gathered at the medbay door after hearing Starscream's screaming, looked to where the distressed flier was pointing,

"He's going mad"

"Quiet, Hotshot!"

"Everyone, except you Prime, out!"

The medic chased the other Autobots away before looking to his leader for help.

Optimus moved slowly onto the berth, gathering the terrified seeker into his arms,

"There is no one there, Starscream. Just me and Red Alert." He soothed

Moving the flier into a better position, he allowed Starscream to rest his helm on his chest. He frowned as the distraught seeker continued to weep,

"No one's coming to get you. Just look, Starscream. I promise no one is here to hurt you. I won't let him hurt you ever again."

The seeker, very slowly, turned his helm to the corner where he has seen Megatron standing. He sighed in relief when he just saw Red Alert.

"It was just a nightmare, Starscream. Nothing more." The medic explained.

He continued to work on the seekers' wings, giving Starscream something else to focus on as he calmed himself. Exhausted, he rested his helm on the Prime's chest once again, listening to the soothing spark beat.

Optimus wrapped his servo's around the seeker, silently protecting the youngling from any more nightmares as Starscream rested.

"When will his wings be repaired?"

"I'm hoping I can reattach them tomorrow. The procedure won't take too long."

Optimus nodded,

"He'll be glad to hear that."

"I agree"

Starscream shifted, grabbing both older mechs attention. They smiled as the seeker fell into a deeper recharge, calm at last.


	6. Chapter 6

Starscream awoke slowly, he gingerly sat up, feeling a familiar weight on his back. He was groggy and could not quite piece together where he was.

'Good morning, Starscream'

The young seeker looked to his right to find the medic sitting beside the berth with a datapad in servo.

'How are you feeling?'

'Tired' the youngling mumbled

'That is to be expected, you have just woken from surgery after all.'

Starscream froze, he finally noticed his wings were reattached and perfectly intact,

'Thank you' he whispered as he twisted round to try to see them better. A grin was plastered to his face.

'You're welcome, kid.'

Red Alert smiled but it fell once he noticed the troubled look upon the youngling's face,

'What is it, Starscream?'

Quietly, Starscream answered,

'You're not sending me back are you? Please, I don't want to go back, I cou-'

Red Alert cut him off before the youngster could wind himself up into a full blown panic attack,

'No, of course not! You are more than welcome to stay here. We couldn't send you back to that monster.'

Optimus Prime had just walked in at the tail end of that conversation,

'We are certainly not sending you back to him. We shall find a berthroom for you and make you feel comfortable and welcome here.'

Starscream nodded, feeling more secure about the situation and smiled at the prime who returned the smile back to him.

The Prime turned to his medic,

'So, how did the surgery go?'

'Ah, well as you can see', gesturing to Starscream,

'Really well. It didn't take me too long to reattach your wings, Starscream, however, there was signs of infection. I cleaned out the wounds and took away any infected mesh in your back and gave you an antibitotic injection. That should clear the rest of it. If you feel unwell at any time, you need to come and find me, understood?'

'Yes sir'

'Good Kid'

Prime looked to the youngling,

'If you feel like it, I could show you around. Maybe you would like to spend some time in the rec room rather being stuck in here, no offence Red.' The medic just waved it off.

'What about the others?' Starscream suddenly felt incredibly shy and small

'They know you are here and that you are no threat. They won't bother you.'

Starscream nodded

'Good. Now do you feel as though you can stand?'

Starscream got to his pedes albeit wobbly, he stumbled forward but Prime was at the ready to catch him and stand him up again.

'That's it, slowly. You feel okay?'

'Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit shaky.'

'That's normal, just take it easy Starscream'

Red Alert voiced as he watched the young seeker leave with his leader. The medic sighed and proceeded to tidy his medbay and surgery.


	7. Chapter 7

Starscream thankfully found the rec room to be surprisingly quiet and empty, except for Scavenger who was relaxing on one of the bot sized couches. Scavenger looked up from his resting place to eye the youngling who was now fidgeting nervously. Optimus gave his soldier a firm look from behind Starscream,

'Come Starscream, sit here and let's see if you can take a cube of energon.'

Starscream hadn't taken anything since he had arrived except energon through an I.V. His tanks ached for the nutrients.

Optimus handed his young charge the cube before taking his leave,

'I'm afraid I've got paperwork to do. I'll be in my office if you need me or there is Red Alert no doubt still in the med bay.'

Starscream gave a shy smile and thanked the prime.

'You're welcome, see you later.'

Scavenger was surprised at the younglings polite answers and demeanor. Megatron would give him hell for such an attitude.

' _'Perhaps he belongs here afterall ''_ Scavenger thought to himself.

'How you holding up, Starscream?'

The youngling jumped at the unexpected voice, spilling a few drops of energon down his front. Starscream stared at the larger bot, like a deer in headlights. He hated to admit it but he was terrified , instincts still told him that a potential threat was in front of him. His wings trembled.

'Hey, it's okay kid. I'm not gonna harm you, I promise. Just wanted to make sure you were doing okay. You have been in Red Alert's med bay for some time.'

Scavenger slowly approached before dropping down on own knee in front of the flier. He would look less threatening if he was at the same height as the seeker. He carefully reached out to wipe away the few drops of spilled energon and waited patiently for an answer.

Starscream gave him the quiet answer the bot had been waiting for,

'I am doing okay, it's just strange is all.'

'I bet. Well, don't worry, you are safe here. Optimus and Red Alert would never let anything happen to you, alright? And neither will I.'

Starscream nodded but flinched as Scavenger placed a servo on his shoulder but quickly relaxed.

'You will settle in fine, kid.'

After a pause he added,

'I am going for a cube, would you like anything?'

'No thank you.'

Starscream settled himself on the couch, bringing his knees up to his chest. He watched the monitor which was playing some human movie but the flier wasn't paying any real attention to it. He was still tired which confused him but he was happy to just sit and relax for once.  
Slowly, he found himself falling into recharge.


	8. Chapter 8

Starscream awoke to voices around him but he startled rather violently as his optics came online only to find the face of Hot Shot staring right back at him.

'Hot Shot! Leave him alone!' The Prime's voice rang out

'Sorry Prime, just wanted to make sure he was awake and hadn't died on us.'

Starscream looked around to find most of the bots and the three humans had all gathered in the rec room. He could hear the kids excitedly talking about a movie night. He jumped again as he felt a servo on his shoulder.

'Easy Starscream, it's just me.'

Starscream relaxed at the familiar face of the medic.

'You had fallen into recharge, are you feeling okay?'

The youngling nodded. He was feeling an itch where his wings had been reattached but he put it down to the wounds just healing, he didn't want to bother the medic with petty things. He twitched his wings to dislodge the uncomfortable feeling.

The evening had gone smoothly with everyone watching the movie. Starscream wasn't paying too much attention to it, he was too busy watching how the autobots got on so well and were like, dare he say it, family.

Living with the decepticons was so different. It wasn't unusual to find yourself the target for target practice and the onslaught of insults that were thrown about was awful. Starscream shivered at the thought of having to live with them again.

One by one, the children left and the bots headed off to their berthrooms. Starscream was one of the last few left in the rec room. Hot Shot and Blurr were talking on the far side of the room and Red Alert had stayed by his side, reading a datapad.

'Well Starscream,' the medic sighed and stretched, 'I am turning in for the night. Are you ready or are you staying up?'

Starscream shook his head,

'I'm ready to recharge too.'

'Come, we have a berth set up for you in a room near Prime's and down the corridor from mine.'

Red Alert lead the youngling to his room and ensured he was comfortable there. He handed Starscream the warm tarp he had been using while staying in the med bay.

'Any problems, just knock on mine or Optimus's door, okay?'

Starscream nodded.

Red Alert smiled,

'good night Starscream.'

'Night.'

As Red Alert closed the door, Starscream made himself comfortable on the large and roomy berth. The itch in his back had yet to leave but he found he was too drowsy to care. He sighed as he once again fell into recharge.


	9. Chapter 9

It was a restless recharge for Starscream, his wings ached, he was hot, he was cold and he felt that he needed purge. His tanks twisted once more, finally having enough, leaving Starscream to run to the washracks in his room where he proceeded to purge his tanks. He checked his internal clock, it was early morning. He whimpered as he shakily got to his pedes and decided it was best to go and find Red Alert.

Opening his door, he quietly made his way down the hall, his frame trembling. As he passed Optimus's berthroom and turned the corner, he bumped into Scavenger who was monitoring the halls and security cameras.

Scavenger looked worryingly at the young and shaking seeker in front of him. The youngster pressed his servos to his belly plating and groaned,

'I think I'm going to purge.'

Scavenger grabbed his upper arm and marched him to the nearest berthroom.

'Let's find a washrack, I really don't want to be cleaning up your mess.'

Scavenger banged on the door, knowing full well who occupied that berthroom.

Starscream froze as Prime wearily opened the door but was pushed aside as Scavenger barged in with a sorry looking Starscream being dragged behind him.

'What's going on?' Optimus demanded

'Emergency. Starscream's sick and he's not spewing out there!' He gestured to the hall

The minute Starscream reached the washracks, he purged for the second time. Scavenger and Optimus fell silent and flinched at the sound of Starscream violently purging his tanks. It seemed to last forever until all that was left was the sound of the young seeker whimpering.  
Scavenger had gone to retrieve Red Alert and Optimus stood outside the door of his wash racks. He could hear the sound of water running and the heavy intakes of Starscream.  
The Prime knocked gently on the door before calling out,

'Are you finished, Starscream? Can I come in?'

A whimpering 'yes' was his only reply.

Optimus quietly opened the door and slowly approached the seeker who was kneeling, a pool of water had formed around him.  
Prime sighed and gently gathered the ill flier into his arms and proceeded to leave the cold and damp washracks.  
As he gently laid Starscream on his own berth, Red Alert and Scavenger arrived. The medic immediately went to the seekers side, scanning him and checking him over.

'He's not long stopped purging and he's warm to the touch too.' Optimus informed them

'His core temperature is rising dramatically, I'm afraid the infection has spread, I need to see his wings.'

Scavenger nodded and helped the Prime to gently turn the sickly seeker onto his front. Starscream gasped as Red Alert touched the wing joints. He could feel heat rising from that area and was obviously sore to touch.

'Sorry Starscream. I'm going to go and get some antibiotics. Optimus, come with me and Scavenger, please watch over Starscream. We won't be gone for long.'

Scavenger nodded as the two bots left, he glanced at the youngling still lying on his front. His wing twitched and he yelped. Scavenger laid a comforting servo on the seekers shoulder,

'It's gonna be fine, Red Alert will have it sorted in no time.'

As Starscream looked up at him, he really hoped it was was going to be something that was simple to treat but Scanvenger knew that infection near seeker's wings and joints were never a good thing. It was far too easy for infection to enter energon lines near those areas as the wings required extra energon supply, one reason why their wings were so sensitive.

Scavenger smiled reassuringly as Starscream whimpered and his intakes increased due to the rising heat.

'It's going to be okay.'


	10. Chapter 10

Optimus and Red Alert quickly marched down the hall towards the medbay, their quickened pace waking a few bots from recharge, their doors opening. Several bots demanded to know what was going on.

As Red Alert continued down the hall, Optimus stopped to address his worried soldiers,

'It's Okay. Starscream is unwell and we are just heading tp the medbay.'

Hot Shot nodded and quickly closed his berthroom door to return to his recharge, unconcerned. Jetfire continued to look at his leader,

'Is he alright?'

'There is infection where his wings were reattached' Jetfire whinced as Prime sighed, 'Red Alert is concerned it has entered his energon lines. He is really unwell at the moment and we are going for antibiotics however Red is convinced that the wings will need to be removed, something he will not be happy with.'

Jetfire nodded in understanding,

'If you need any help, just give me a shout. I can sympathise, it's not going to be easy for him. I just hope the infection hasn't gotten too bad.'

'As do I, Jetfire. There are still a few more hours till sunrise, please continue to rest. I must go and catch up with Red Alert. Jetfire nodded before closing his door.

As Prime reached the medbay, he noticednd Red Alert was preparing his surgery theatre and his tools. Without looking up, the medic spoke,

'We need to remove his wings as soon as possible, Prime, I don't want the infection to worsen. Help me sanatise the table and these tools, once we have this place sorted, we will explain to Starscream what needs to be done and hopefully he will come easily. '

Optimus and Red Alert worked quickly in silence and once finished, Red Alert rushed to the was racks to prepare himself for the operation. Optimus was give the task to retrieve Starscream, a task he was not looking forward to.

Optimus Prime gently opened the door to his berthroom, finding that Scavenger was calmly talking to the seeker who looked to be feeling worse. There was an obvious layer of condensation on his frame which shook violently. He noticed the pool of unprocessed energon on the floor next to his berth.

'His temperature is extremely high, Prime. I'm afraid he purged on your floor, sorry about that.'

'Never mind that, I'll clean it up later. Red needs Starscream in the medbay ASAP.'

The Prime slowly knelt down to face Starscream, who was still lying on his front.

'Starscream, look at me.' He spoke with an urgency that caught Starscreams attention, he whispered with a 'yes, sir.'

'We need to get you to Red Alert, okay?I'm afraid your wings will need to be removed but they will be kept safe and will be reattached once your healed, understand?'

Starscream weakly nodded in understanding, he was feeling too unwell to care.

Optimus sighed in relief at the nod but he also felt incredibly worried for the seeker's health. Taking a seeker's wings is the worst thing you coild do to them and the fact that Starscream didn't seem to care his were being removed left Optimus feeling anxious.

'Let's get going, Starscream.'

Optimus and Scavenger gently turned Starscream on to his but both bots jumped at the loud yelp and whimpers that escaped from the sick seeker. Optimus swiftly pulled the trembling flier to his chesy, the seekers arms hanging over each of his shoulders. The Prime placed a servo below and above the infected area to avoid causing pain to the youngling whilst holding him securely.

Now that he had Starscream in his arms, the Prime and Scavenger left for the medbay.


	11. Chapter 11

Optimus gently placed the seeker, face down, onto the medbay's operation table. Red Alert immediately connected Starscream to the monitoring systems and placed him on an I.V. As he looked into the seeker's flickering optics, he quickly started to put Starscream into stasis.

Starscream went under quickly, his frame relaxing and the monitors fell into a steady rhythm. Red Alert chased Optimus and Scavenger out of the surgery however they continued to stay, watching the medic work through the theatre's window.

The medic swiftly removed the seeker's wings and placed them to the side, pleased to see they weren't damaged. His relief was placed with horror as he cut away the welding that covered the wounds. The mesh was in a terrible state. The infection had eaten away at his frame and left it discoloured and weeping energon. Red Alert quickly started to cut away at the infected frame and mesh, using an antiseptic spray as he worked.

The infection had caused the wounds to deepen, resulting in the increase of time it took for the procedure to be completed. Red Alert had finally cut away all infected metal, leaving long and deep wounds on Starscream's leaking had lessened and the medic carefully covered the wounds with a clear bandage to let the wounds breathe. He couldn't seal them as they would need to be cleaned regularly and the bandages would need to be replaced morning and night as Starscream fought the infection that raged on through his energon lines. He just hoped the seeker had enough strength to fight it.

The medic cleaned up his operating theatre and tools before gesturing to Optimus that he could come in. Scavenger decided it was best to give them some space. As Optimus flinched at the sight of the wounds, Red Alert gestured to them,

'They will need to be cleaned and re-bandaged every morning and night to stop the infection from taking hold again.'

Red Alert reached for a needle and syringe, injecting it into a major energon line in Starscream's thigh,

'I have given him a huge dose of antibiotics and tomorrow he will start a course of oral antibiotics, to be taken four times a day.'

Red Alert looked to the Prime when he felt a servo on his shoulder,

'He will get through this, you have done all you can for him. We will make sure he gets through this.'

Red Alert nodded, grateful for the reassurance,

'Let's wake up our patient, I don't want him in stasis for any longer than he has to be.'


	12. Chapter 12

Starscream whimpered as he awoke from stasis, he was disorientated, his helm thumped and his back burned. He listened to the steady beeping and tried to look around whilst lying on his front. He suddenly knew he was in the medbay and the reason why came flooding back.

His intakes increased as he noticed his wings were gone once again and his spark thumped hard in it's chamber as a sob bubbled up in his throat. He startled violently as the spark monitor sounded it's alarm and the I.V was painfully ripped from him arm at the sudden movement. He yelped as another alarm joined in with the first one causing Starscream's helm to flair with pain. The seeker pushed himself into a seated position and pulled his knees to his chest, wishing the pain and noise away.

The door to the medbay burst open as Optimus and Red Alert rushed in, now regretting leaving the seeker alone, even if it was only to go and get a cube of energon.

Red Alert quickly ran about, turning off the blaring alarms as Optimus approached the now sobbing seeker. The Prime sat down quietly onto the berth, pulling the unaware seeker onto his lap. He motioned for Red Alert as he noticed the worrying heat still radiating from the youngster's frame.

The sudden pierce of the needle sent Starscream flying into a fight or flight response. He fought hard to escape from the hold but the arms were strong and held on, refusing to let go. He could hear the high pitched squeals he was making but he could pick up familiar voices above his own yells. Suddenly he recognised them to be Prime's and Red Alert's voices, he was safe here, he froze as he came to his senses. He panted as he looked at the older mechs.

As he looked down at the arms that surrounded him, he just about had a spark attack. Deep scratches marred the Prime's servos.

Starscream stuttered in fear,

'I-I'm s-so sorry!' His intakes hitched, 'I p-promise, I- I didn't mean it. I was scare-'

'Easy Starscream, it's alright. It was an accident, I startled you. I am sorry,' Red Alert apologised and turned to Optimus,

'My fault, Prime.'

Optimus waved it off and smiled reassuringly to both mechs. He gently rocked the distressed seeker,

'Don't worry about it.' He gently turned Starscream to look at him, 'It was an accident.' he repeated.

Starscream glanced at the needle that Red Alert was still holding. The medic noticed the seeker's glance and turned his attention to the young flier, answering the unvoiced question,

'I was injecting a coolant into your system, we need to get that temperature of yours down.'

Starscream felt his frame relax as he was rocked gently. He tried to listen when Red Alert was informing them of the after treatment for his wounds and the medication he would need to take to help fight the infection. He wanted to ask about his wings but found he was too tired , he figured he could always ask later. Starscream allowed himself to be rocked into recharge.


	13. Chapter 13

Optimus carried Starscream back to his berthroom where Jetfire had been asked to set up another berth. Red Alert was not comfortable leaving the poorly seeker unattended at the present moment.

As Prime reached his berthroom door, Jetfire exited, holding the door open. The shuttle glanced at the soundly recharging seeker, who looked so much smaller without his wings.

'Primus! He looks so innocent.' he chuckled

Optimus gave his friend a small smile before making his way to, what would be, Starscream's new berth. He insured the seeker was comfortable, allowing the youngster to roll onto his side and covered him with a tarp. Soft, large pillows were placed between Starscream's back and the wall, preventing him from accidently rolling onto his back.

Jetfire watched, intrigued,

'Are his wounds that bad?'

'Unfortunately.'

Optimus placed Starscream's medication, bandages and antiseptic cleaning supplies on the side table near the seeker's berth. He noticed the spilled energon that Starscream had purged was gone.

'Did you clean that up?'

'Yeah, I didn't think you'd want to do it.' the shuttle laughed

Optimus grinned, 'you were right. Thank you, Jetfire.'

'No problem. I'll take charge of the troops, it's all quiet anyways. You can catch up on some rest.'

Optimus nodded and thanked the shuttle as he left. The Prime sighed before heading to the washracks, perhaps that would help him to relax. He unnecessary left the door open just in case he heard Starscream awaken but the ill seeker stayed soundly in recharge.

Optimus took a couple of hours recharge before letting Red Alert to take a shift of watching over the youngster. Starscream remained sound for the rest of that day, even with the sound of the lively halls.

The Prime looked on, worried, but the medic assured him that it was a good sign and that is was the best way for Starscream to heal. Optimus sighed before turning off the overhead lights, heading to his own berth to recharge. The day had been too quiet, even the Decepticons seemed to be taking it easy, not that the Prime was complaining. His optics flickered to darkness as he fell into recharge.

'where am i?'

Optimus awoke, confused. Something had disturbed him for recharge but he couldn't remember what, it was still late. He nearly jumped when he heard a small and quiet tone ring out in the darkness.

'Red Alert?'

Optimus turned on the dimmed lights to find Starscream was sitting up in his berth.

'Where am I?' the confused question was asked again.

'You're in my berthroom.' Optimus answered barely above a whisper, hoping the seeker would go back to recharging.

'Oh.'

Optimus silently slipped out of his berth to to check on the sick flier. He found that Starscream's optics flickered, indicating he was still half in recharge. The Prime noticed that Starscreams temperature had slighting risen, the probable the cause of Starscream's awakening.

'It's still late, Starscream. Why don't you lie back down?'

The seeker complied, wincing as his back brushed against the pillow. Starscream's intakes quickly deepened causing Optimus to laugh slightly as the seeker went back to recharge almost immediately. Optimus decided to follow his lead and headed back to his berth.


	14. Chapter 14

Starscream growled at the servo that was shaking his shoulder. He almost succeeded in falling back to recharge until a voice interrupted his mission. He groaned,

 _'didn't they realise he was feeling awful'_ he thought

'I know you aren't feeling great, Starscream, but I need you to wake up for me.'

Starscream's optics onlined to stare up at Optimus's faceplates for a minute. Starscream felt slightly confused,

 _'Had he voiced his thoughts outloud or had the Prime learnt to read minds'_ he wondered. The seeker was tempted to offline his optics again.

'Come on! Wakey wakey!.'

The was a different voice. Now he was awake. Starscream tried to turn to find the owner of the voice. He didn't need to look for long as the large shuttle came into view.

'Good morning!'

'Morning, Jetfire.' he grumbled

'Someone's not a morning bot, are they?' Jetfire laughed as he pointed to Starscream.

Starscream sighed, he didn't have the energy to find a snappy response, he looked helplessy at prime.

'That's enough, Jetfire.'

Starscream heard the shuttle sit down on the other berth that occupied the room.

'We need to sort out those wounds of yours and you have a dose of antibiotics to take.'

Starscream's faceplates fell, he had forgotten about this.

'You mights as well get used to it, Starscream. Now, can you please lie on your front for me?'

Starscream complied.

The seeker winced as the clear bandages were removed, he watched as Jetfire walked towards him, no doubt wanting a closer look. He heard the shuttle's sharp intake,

 _'It must look bad'_ he thought as he felt a reassuring servo on his back, he offlined his optics.

Prime took a breath,

I'm afraid this might hurt' and sprayed the wounds with the antiseptic spray.

'Hurt' was an understatement, Starscream's back exploded in agony.

Optimus jumped back, nearly dropping the spray as Starscream let out a howl, almost throwing himself off the berth. Jetfire quickly steadied him, holding the screeching seeker down on the berth.

'I'm so sorry, Starscream.' the prime whispered to him, guilt written on his faceplates.

He quickly sprayed the wounds and got the mesh cloths ready. As the cloth touched the infected area, Starscream cried out,

'Please stop!' he begged

'Almost done, Starscream, I promise, almost done!'

Optimus rushed to finish cleaning out the wounds, the cries of the seeker making his tanks turn, and quickly applied fresh bandages. The Prime looked at the shaking shoulders of the youngster,

'I am truly sorry, Starscream. We have to do this. We can't let them become infected again.'

Jetfire stood back, feeling sorry for the poor seeker. Even he had to admit, it looked rough.

'Jetfire?'

'Yes, prime?'

'Perhaps you could get Red for me.'

'Of course, sir.'

As the shuttle left, Optimus lifted the now bawling seeker into his arms. He felt so guitly for inflicting such pain. He jumped as Starscream hid his faceplates into his shoulder, feeling the seeker's tears as they dampened his frame. Optimus rested his chin on the flier's helm, he knew there was nothing he could do to help Starscream at the moment. He sighed wearily and held the weepign seeker.

Red Alert found them in that position, he could see how the cleaning supplies had been left abandoned on the side table and he knew exactly what had happened. The medic sat beside the two mechs, placing a gentle servo on Starscream's shoulder.

'It hurts like hell, I know. It will get better as the wounds heal, you just need to keep fighting through it.'

The older mech's sparks shattered as they heard the broken answer,

'I'm tired of fighting.' the seeker let out a shaky sigh, 'I'm so tired.'

Red Alert recovered first,

'You need to fight this, Starscream. For us, please. You can beat this and you'll be flying in the clouds once again, I promise.'

Optimus added,

'You won't have to fight again, this is the final push youngling. You can beat this right?'

Starscream nodded as he lifted his helm off the Prime's shoulder, wiping at his messy optics. Red Alert handed him a soft cloth he had in subspace.

The medic noticed that Starscream's temperature had dramatically increased once again. He sighed, retrieving the bottle of antibiotics and pouring a dose onto a spoon,

'Let's get this down you and then I can administer something for the pain.'

Starscream looked on uneasy but stopped the medic as he came closer,

'I don't need to be spoon-fed, I can take it myself.'

Starscream quickly swallowed the offending solution and shuddered causing the other two mechs to laugh,

'It's for your own good.' The medic smiled, 'I can give you an injection for the pain now and then perhaps you would like to spend some time out of your berth.'

Starscream nodded and held out his arm to welcome the painkiller injection.

As the pain lessened in his back, Optimus and Red Alert lead him to the rec. room, he could hear that most of the bots had gathered there. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the quiet time. Starscream noticed that Scavenger and Jetfire were in the far side, playing a game of cards. Blurr and Smokescreen were excitedly chatting to the three humans and the others were relaxing on the couches either reading datapads or watching the screen.

Starscream could feel himself starting to relax until,

'WHOA! Those holes look painful!'

'HOT SHOT!' Prime roared.

Starscream lost his balance as he spun round quickly to face the Autobot who had sneaked up behind him. Optimus managed to steady him as he tripped back but he couldn't help the loud yelp that escaped him when the Prime's servo accidently brushed over the dressings.

The room went silent.

Red Alert quickly sat Starscream next to him on the couch, glancing at the wounds to ensure they hadn't started leaking. Carlo's had heard something about holes on the seeker's back and quickly joined in,

'Let's see! How bad are they Hot Shot?'

'Hot Shot and Carlos!' Optimus hissed, 'Will you please leave Starscream alone.'

The bots and humans quickly went back to their own business after Optimus's clear warning, nobody dared annoy the seeker after that.

The kid's had started up a movie and Starscream was finding that he had no interest in such things. Scavenger seemed to notice this and approached the quiet seeker,

'Want to play cards with Jetfire and myself?'

'I don't know how to.'

'I'll teach you. You can help me to beat Jetfire.'

Starscream smiled and proceeded to joing the older mechs at the far side of the room. Starscream sat beside Scavenger on the couch and looking across from Jetfire, a table stood in the middle of them.  
The seeker quickly understood the game but he was becoming increasingly tired, he lent gently on Scavenger's side, who didn't seem to mind as he played on.

Scavenger bumped the seeker, jostling him from his snooze. He hadn't quite fallen into recharge. He looked to the one who had awoken him and noticed the mech was gesturing to something or someone behind him.  
As he turned to look, he whined when when he spotted the bottle that Red Alert was holding out to him. The medic watched and waited to ensure that Starscreen took the dose, the shudder from the seeker told him his patient had swallowed it. Red Alert smiled at him as he took the bottle back. As Red Alert walked away, Starscream noticed the others were looking at him, embarrassed, he turned away from the watching optics and eyes.

'Don't worry about them' Jetfire said, loud enough for everyone to hear, 'they are just nosey buggers.' The shuttle grinned at the seeker's laugh.

It wasn't long before Starscream found himself fighting recharge, leaning against Scavenger once again. With one final deep intake, he succumb to the urge to rest.

Scavenger jumped slightly as he felt Starscream being lifted from his side, he snapped round to find Optimus had taken the seeker into his arms. Prime smiled at the mechs,

'Thank you.'

Scavenger and Jetfire both nodded their helms, understanding. They watched Optimus leave with the recharging flier. The shuttle quickly noticed that the others were staring after them too,

'Get back to your own business!'

Jetfire watched in delight as a sea of heads and helms quickly turned away from the leaving pair, he grinned as he turned to face the unamused faceplates of Scavenger.

'What? It was funny.'

Jetfire's grin fell as Scavenger was suddenly grinning back at him. Suddenly, the shuttle looked to the cards on the table,

'Ah you bugger! How did you win that?!'

It was Scavenger's turn to laugh.


	15. Chapter 15

Starscream shifted from recharge to find himself in Prime's berthroom once again. He had obviously fallen into recharge in the rec. room, embarrassed, heat rose up to his faceplates.

It was late afternoon now, he figured he had recharged for a few hours. Just as he was about to get up to leave the room, Red Alert walked in, holding a cube of energon in one servo while the other held that Primus forsaken bottle, Starscream glared at it before sighing. He figured there was no point in arguing with the medic and quickly took the medication.

'Do you think you could manage some energon?'

Starscream nodded, feeling hungry for the first time in a while. Red Alert watched as the seeker sipped at the cube only for him to flinch at the taste,

'Sorry, Starscream. It's medical grade, I can't risk upsetting your tanks. It shouldn't taste too bad though.'

'It's just different, that's all' was the reply the medic recieved, 'I just wasn't expecting it.' The seeker continued to sip at the cube.

Once he was finished, he stayed sitting up in his berth. He didn't feel like recharging again, he sighed as the medic fidgeted with the medical supplies on the side table. He winced inwardly at the sight of the bandages, he squirmed nervously.

The medic turned to face him,

'If you're bored, you could always head to the training room, I believe Jetfire and Scavenger are sparring in there.'

Starscream went to hop off the berth but the medic's voice stopped him in his tracks,

'But I mean it, Starscream, observe only. You better not think of joining in.'

'I won't, I promise.'

Starscream quietly entered the training room, moving silently to sit in a corner as he watched the two mechs. He wondered how long it would take for either of them to notice him.

The seeker watched in fascination as the two bots sparred, they quickened their pace until Jetfire ended up on his back, Scavenger looking over him menacingly. Starscream's intakes stopped but he sighed when he noticed the smile on the shuttle's faceplate, Scavenger's body language relaxed as he offered a servo to the shuttle,

'Good fight.'

As the two mechs turned to face the door, they both yelled and jumped back at the sight of the young seeker sitting on the floor watching them from a corner.

'When did you get here?!'

Starscream laughed and stood up,

'About half an hour ago, sorry.'

'What are you doing here?' Scavenger asked

'I was bored. Red Alert said you two were in here and I thought I would come and watch.' he shrugged.

'Fair enough. We are going to go and get a cube. Want to join us?'

Starscream nodded and turned towards the door. As he turned, the two older mechs flinched at the sight of the angry wounds, they had started to leak energon. Scavenger stopped the seeker,

'Those bandages need to be changed, Starscream.' the seeker turned, fear written on his faceplates.

'Why don't you go on ahead, Jetfire, we will join you in a bit.'

The shuttle nodded and gave the seeker a pat on the shoulder as he left.

'Come on, might as well get it over and done with.'

Starscream reluctantly agreed, he could feel the wounds leaking and aching.

They found Red Alert sitting at his desk in the medbay. Realising Starscream wasn't going to speak up, Scavanger alerted the medic to the situation.

Starscream shook as he lay face down on the medbays berth, terrified.

'I'll be quick, okay?'

Starscream pressed his helm against the berth but looked up when he felt a servo resting on his own. Scavenger watched him with reasuring optics.

The seeker flinched harshly as the pain erupted, his optics swam. He desperately tried to stop himself from makin a noise but a high pitched whine escaped him. He could hear a soft voice talking to him,

'You are doing so well.' He offlined his optics.

Red Alert dried up the wounds and reapplied the bandages before nudging Starscream to encourage him to sit up. He did so, slowly, wiping at his optics in an attempt to his the tears. Both mechs politely took no notice, giving the flier a chance to compose himself.

As the burning pain lessened to an ache, he gently got off the berth to follow Scavenger as they went to find Jetfire. They came across the shuttle with a cube in hand in the rec room. He was the only one in the room, it seemed that Optimus had sent some of the other bots out on patrol.

Jetfire waved them over and looked into the still watery optics of the seeker. He patted the seat next to him and Starscream sat down gingerly to avoid touching his back against anything.

'You okay?' Jetfire asked, concerned.

Starscream sighed and nodded as the shuttle gave him a warm smile before handing a cube to Scavenger. The shuttle gestured to the third cube and asked if the seeker if he wanted it.

Starscream shook his helm,'I had a cube earlier.'

He winced as he leant back, trying to get comfortable. Jetfire was curious about how Starscream had come to be so injured in the first place. He didn't remember anyone's report saying that they had shot down the seeker. He carefully thought about how to word the question,

'How did it happen, Starscream?'

'Huh?'

'Your injuries.'

'Oh.' Starscream avoided the mech's optics,

'I was left injured on the battlefield. Optimus and Red Alert came across me. When I woke up, my wings were gone. I knew they were badly damaged as well as the nasty tears on my back where my wings attach. Red Alert repaired my wings and cleaned up the tears that had been left, he reattached my wings once that was all completed.' Starscream sighed,

'But an infection took hold and well, you know the rest.'

'I am sorry, Starscream.'

'Oh, don't worry, it wasn't any of you.' he quietly said,

'It was my punishment for failing Megatron again.'

Scavenger and Jetfire bristled with anger, their hatred grew more intense towards the tyrant.

'I was so scared when Optimus and Red Alert found me. I didn't think I would be so easily welcomed. Thank you.'

'You were so injured, they wouldn't dream of leaving you out there. We wouldn't have left you either.'

Jetfire placed his arm around the seekers shoulders. Scavenger nodded his head in agreement,

'No one deserves to be treated like that!.'

-especially not a youngling- he thought but kept that to himself.

'I just hope you are happy here.'

'I am.' Starscream shyly smiled at the mechs, leaning into Jetfire.

The shuttle decided to change the mood.

'Well, if you are going to be staying with us, I think it's only fair that you learn all the funny stories we have collected throughout the years. Aimed at everyone else of course.'

Starscream laughed with the two mechs as he listened to what Scavenger called 'Blackmail material'.The seeker yawned quietly, feeling safe in the company of others for the first time in many years.

As he continued to listen, he felt himself shiver however the other two didn't seem to notice. He desperately wanted to stay in their company for a little longer. After a while, Starscream found it difficult to pay attention to the stories and his frame startled to tremble uncontrollably. He could just make out the panicked voices of Jetfire and Scavenger as they called to him and the hurried footsteps.

Starscream tried to stop himself from shaking but the effort was in vain. He didn't even have the energy to react to the arrival of the two new voices. He could feel himself being hastily picked up and rushed out of the room.

Lights passed overhead, voices spoke to him, worried questions were asked but he could not answer, it was like his processor had failed him.

Cold. Wet. That was the next thing that Starscream noticed. He struggled to escape from the water that was showering down on him but he was held fast. Slowly, he found he could start to process what was going on around him. He tried to focus on the light that was being shone into his optics, he could just hear Red Alert's question,

'Can you hear me, Starscream?'

He nodded

'Good, well done. I think he is coming round, Prime.'

He glanced up to find Optimus was looking down at him with concerned optics, it seemed they were sitting on the floor of the washracks.

'Why are we in here?' his voice was quiet and weak

'We had to get your temperature down, this was the quickest way to do that, I'm afraid.'

Starscream shivered,

'I'm really cold.'

Red Alert nodded,

'It seems your core temperature has dropped, let's get you dried up.'

The movement that occured as Starscream was picked off the floor caused his vision to swim. He could feel himself being patted down with a large towel. He could feel the bandages being removed and the wounds dried, thankfully it didn't cause too much pain. He felt them being re-bandaged. He tried to turn away from the syringe that was being placed in his mouth but he swallowed the familair tasting liquid quickly.

Some time passed before Starscream became more aware, feeling slightly better than he had done previously.

He felt himself being rocked. His optics opened slowly, noticing that Optimus was rocking him, the Prime was sitting on the berth, his back resting against the wall. He noticed the warm tarp that had been wrapped around his frame. Lastly, he picked up the sound of humming, he recognised it as an old Cybertronian lullaby.

Starscream tried to focus on the Prime's faceplates and watched as Optimus smiled at him, the leader of the Autobots finally reassured that the youngster had fought through the worst that the infection could throw at him.

Starscream sighed, content, his optics flickered as he was gently rocked into recharge, calmed by the sound of the familair lullaby.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Starscream slowly settled into the Autobot base. His recently attached wings twitched as he watched a few of the older bots spar. He was becoming restless. He was still under orders to rest until Optimus and Red Alert felt that he had truly recovered. Starscream couldn't blame them. His systems were still easily exhausted as they recovered from the infection that had taken hold, deep within his energon lines. The medic liked to remind him of how lucky he was that it didn't effect any of his internal organs. Starscream snapped back to attention as he heard a voice all out,

"You want in on this, Starscream?" Hotshot called to him from the sparring arena.

The seeker glanced around nervously,

"I can't. They said not to." He spoke quietly.

"Oh, come on. We'll take it easy and I swear I won't go near your back."

Starscream's wings twitched at the mention of the healing wounds under his wing joints.

"Okay, but only for a couple of clicks."

Hotshot grinned but both mechs suddenly froze as a loud voice rang down the hall,

"Starscream! Don't even think about it."

The young seeker turned to the approaching medic, his wings lowered submissively as he looked at Red Alert's very serious faceplates. Before Starscream could defend himself, Hotshot spoke up,

"I asked him to spar. He didn't want to but I kept pushing it upon him."

Starscream hid his surprisement well, he never expected Hotshot to come to his defence.

"That may be but he k-" Red Alert groaned as he was interrupted again,

"Leave the kids alone, Red. Starscream must be getting pretty bored by now."

"Stay out of this, Jetfire."

"Come on, Red. Surely he can do something. Why can't he go for a short flight? I'll go with him."

The medic glanced at the youngling who had perked up at the mention of flying, his wings ever so slightly trembled.

"Fine,"

"Thank you!"

"But! I mean it Starscream, _Jetfire,_ only a quick flight and stay within the protected perimeter."

The two fliers grinned at each other but their faces fell slightly as Red Alert added,

"And you'll need to get Optimus's permission as well, of course."

* * *

Optimus sighed at the request as Jetfire continued to persuade his commander about _'how it was the best thing for Starscream's recovery._ The Prime glanced at the young seeker who seemed to be hiding behind the large shuttle transformer. Optimus internally groaned before interupting Jetfire's speach.

"Okay. I agree to it but you have to promise to stay within the perimeter and it's only a short flight, 10 minutes or so. Agreed?"

Jetfire grinned smuggly, behind the commander, at the seeker who quickly thanked the Prime, promising to obey the conditions set.

* * *

Starscream took a long and deep intake before transforming, quickly ascending into the clouds, the shuttle close behind.

Jetfire chuckled to himself as he watched the young seeker dive in and out of the clouds above him, his childish laughter echoing though the shuttle's comms.

All too soon, Starscream slowed until he was flying next to the older mech. He landed and transformed, his intakes panting, his wings trembled but he smiled at Jetfire.

"You okay, Starscream?"

"Yeah," he tried to slow his intakes, "still not 100% but I feel better after flying."

"I can see that." Jetfire chuckled,

"Come on, let's get inside before Optimus sends out a search party for us."

* * *

Red Alert pounced on Starscream as soon as the two fliers arrived back at the base, immediately scanning the young mech and checking over his wing joints.

"Any pain, Starscream? Any discomfort? Anyth-"

"Red, perhaps it's best to let him answer."

Optimus stepped in, saving the youngling from the embarrasing onslaught of questions.

The medic looked at the seeker's face and quickly apologised as he noticed Starscream's embarrassed demeanour, he had forgotten about the other mechs who were around the warp gate. Starscream spoke quietly,

"My wings felt fine and I was flying as well as I always do," he smiled, "but I still tire, I don't have the endurance."

"That is still to be expected," the medic reassured him, "your indurance levels will improve. I'm afraid the type of infection you had has quite a long recovery period."

Starscream nodded in understanding,

"But regular short flights will help with endurance."

The young seeker smiled at the promise of future flying sessions.

The calm and happy atmosphere suddenly left Starscream, replaced with nervousness as Optimus stepped towards him.

"We are awaiting the arrival of an old friend, perhaps it's best for you to go with Scavenger. No harm will come to you but I feel it would be better for me to debrief the new arrival first before you meet him"

Starscream looked worryingly at Optimus, who smiled softly at him.

Scavenger placed a hand on Starscream's shoulder,

"It'll be alright. Let's go and get a cube or something."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Starscream sat next to Scavenger, sipping quietly as his energon cube, he glanced at the older mech who was currently reading a datapad. The smaller rec. room of the base was empty,

 _"the perfect place to hide out for a while"_ Scavenger had said. Finishing half of his cube, the young seeker plucked up the courage to voice the question he had been wanting to ask,

"Who is it that's arriving today?"

"Ironhide."

Scavenger answered without looking up from his datapad howver he continued once he felt the younger mech freeze next to him,

"Don't worry, the rumours are exaggerated." he tried to reassure the seeker,

"Besides, if he accepted me, he won't have a trouble with you."

He nudged the seeker, earning him a smile from the seeker but was suddenly replaced with a small yawn. Scavenger moved up the large bot sized couch, encouraging his charge to lie down.

"Rest for a while, Starscream."

The young seeker curled up on his side, his wings moving to lie flat against his back. As he slowly entered recharge, he heard Scavenger's voice again,

"I'll be right here."

* * *

Scavenger's optics snapped online, not realising he had dozed off in the first place. He was momentarily relieved to see Starscream was still soundly in recharge but he quickly went stock still as he heard voices coming down the hall. He peered through the door from his seated position.

"And this is the second, smaller rec room."

Scavenger sat up straight, an arm resting defensively over Starscream's sleeping form as two mechs came into view.

The large, red mech glanced into the room before resting his optics on the two mechs who occupied one of the couches.

"Scavenger."

The ex-decepticon nodded his head in greeting at the mention of his name,

"Nice to see you again, Ironhide."

"This must be the seeker I was told about."

"Yes. His name is Starscream."

At the mention of his name, the young seeker shifted as he slowly woke up. His bleary optics focused suddenly as the unfamilar mech came into view. He sat up, backing slowly into Scavenger's side.

"Easy, kid" the much larger mech spoke gruffly.

Optimus looked at the young mech, hoping to reassure the obviously frightened mech.

"Come, Ironhide. I'll show you your quarters."

As Optimus lead the way, Ironhide glanced at the seeker. He locked optics with Scavenger who warningly glared back, his engine rumbling to back up the warning.

Ironhide scoffed at them before falling his commander.

* * *

"And this will be your quarters."

"Thank you, Prime." the red mech thought for a moment before continuing,

"I couldn't help but notice Scavenger's defensiveness over that seeker."

" _That seeker_ has a name, Ironhide. And yes, both Scavenger and Jetfire have taken the resposibility of watching out for the youngling. Starscream is much younger than we had originally thought and that has had an effect on some of the bots. They have become quite protective of him, myself included."

"But is it wise to have two ex-decepticons freely discussing and talking? I thought you would have been more strict of what info they could be sharing."

Optimus sighed,

"Scavenger has proven himself countless times. I trust him completely."

"And what about Starscream?"

"As I explained, he has been extremely unwell and has needed supervision most of the time. He is a youngling. One cannot help what faction they are sparked into. The young don't get a choice. Just give him a chance."

Optimus turned to leave Ironhide to settle in but quickly added,

"Please be mindful of Scavenger and Jetfire. Do not give them a reason to defend him."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

An energon-curdling scream echoed down the halls of the autobot base, awakening one particular bot specifically.

Blue optics snapped online, the newly arrived mech was peering down the hall from his berthroom door, weapons active, before he could comprehend what was going on. Years of war brought him out of recharge quickly. He swung round to meet Jetfire head on as he heard the large mech approach him,

"I suggest you power down your weapons, Ironhide."

The weapon specialist grunted before doing what was asked of him,

"What is going on?"

The two mechs could hear voices echoing off the walls, the shuttle avoided the others' gaze,

"Starscream." he stated unhelpfully

"And? What of him?"

"Well, he had nightmares every so often," he paused before adding, "most nights actually."

* * *

Starscream sat upright, panting, shaking as the remainder of the dream faded. Exhausted, he wiped at his watery optics. He didn't bother to react as he heard his berthroom door open.

* * *

Optimus pushed the seeker's berthroom door slowly. He was, sadly, getting used to Starscream's terror-filled wails at night. He quietly sat next to the still panting flier. The commander frowned as the youngling leaned into his side, letting out a shaky sigh as he did so.

"What was it about this time?" He asked gently

The seeker shook his head, not wanting to talk about it , re-live it, like most of the nightmares and memories he saw.

"Come, let's get some energon."

Starscream slowly got off his berth, his optics staring down at the floor as he followed the commander. His faceplated flushed, embarrassed, whe they passed Jetfire and Ironhide. Catching the weapon specialists' seemingly disgusted optics, he quickened his pace to catch up with the Prime. He didn't dare look back.

* * *

Starscream sat quietly, sipping at the warmed energon, watching Optimus sort through a pile of datapads at his desk. He leaned against the wall which the spare berth in Optimus' room sat against. The young seeker was becoming more and more exhausted, he couldn't remember the last time he had a full night, uninterrupted, recharge. His optics flickered, systems begging for recharge.

Optimus glanced up from a datapad, his optics softening at the sight of the young seeker. He crept towards the flier, taking the half empty cube from him before directing the seeker to lie down, placing a tarp over the worn out youngling.

* * *

The lack of recharge was starting to effect the young seeker's mood. Optimus stood in the middle of the large , Jetfire and Scavenger behind him with Ironhide facing him. The sound of poweful cannons humming filled the silence. The Prime took a steadying breath before asking,

"Without shouting, explain what happened, _please_."

"That seeker of yours needs to watch his mouth, prime!"

"Well, if you would stop watching him all the time, suspecting him of something, then perhaps he wouldn't have lost his temper!"

"Jetfire! Please stop interrupting!" The Prime rubbed his helm as Ironhide started again,

"Don't blame me for not trusting a decepticon! That _brat_ has you lot wrapped round his digits, it's you who can't see that!"

Ironhide pointed a cannon at the seeker who was peering from behind Scavenger,

"You should have left him where you found him!"

"ENOUGH! WEAPONS DOWN! NOW!"Optimus roared as he pushed Ironhide and Jetfire back and away from each other, throwing a warning glare at Scavenger not to move.

"I expect better of the lot of you! Get out!" He glanced at the shaking seeker, "I wish to speak to Starscream alone."

Scavenger stood for a moment longer, unwilling to give up his defensive pose over the young seeker. Optimus' optics softened, silently ensuring the large mech that Starscream will be fine.

* * *

Optimus sighed, sitting down on the couch after the three mechs had left. He looked to the flier who appeared to be frozen to the spot, scared optics eyed him cautiously. The Prime didn't need to know what had happened between his four soldiers, he could gather that with the display he had witnessed. He went to speak but Starscream started first,

"I am sorry, Optimus." His voice trembled slightly, "I shouldn't have shouted like that, I ju-"

"Apology accepted. I shall speak to Ironhide later once he has cooled off a bit."

The Prime motioned for the anxious seeker to sit next to him. Starscream avoided looking at the older mech as he did so.

Optimus observed the youngling's frame. His wings were drooped, the Prime could hear his systems humming tiredly and his optics failed to shine as they should. In conclusion, the seeker was entirely exhausted.

With a sigh, the Autobot commander spoke softly,

"When was the last time you recharged through the night, Starscream?"

The seeker didn't look up, just shrugged his shoulders, his wings drooping further. He nearly jumped when Optimus placed a warm, comforting, servo on his shoulder.

"Let's go and see Red Alert."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

At the sound of a knock on the medbay doors, the Autobot medic turned in his seat to greet the pair of mechs at his door,

"Hello Optimus, Starscream."

"Afternoon, Red Alert. I presume you aren't too busy at the moment?"

"Not at all, take a seat. How can I help?"

The two older mechs looked at the young flier who was encouraged to sit on the edge of one of the berths. Starscream quickly averted his optics when he noticed the others looking at him. Optimus sighed, realising Starscream wasn't going to talk,

"I'll be blunt about it Red. He needs something to help him sleep." The Autobot commander watched as his medic approached the angsty seeker,"he is truly exhausted."

"Yes, I can see that" Starscream tried to shy away from the medics' hands, "So Starscream, what's keeping you awake?"

The red and white seeker glanced over at Optimus,

"No" Red Alert spoke gently yet remained firm, "Optimus isn't going to answer for you this time."

Starscream met the medics's optics, obviously struggling to find the words to describe what was going on.

"Will it be easier if it was just you and me?" Red Alert whispered to him, smiling at the small nod he recieved. He turned to his leader,

"Optimus would you mind stepping out?"

"Not at all"

Dragging over a chair, Red Alert sat in front of the seeker,

"So, what's going on?" he waited patiently for the youngling to talk.

Starscream gulped before speaking quietly,

"Nightmares. Every night. I-eh.."

"Is it the same one every night?"

"More or less"

"Can you tell me?"

The silence between them seemed to stretch on forever. Red Alert was about to give up on a reply until Starscream suddenly spoke in a hushed whisper,

"Megatron" he wrapped his arms around himself, "the beatings, pain. Just...everything"

"He can't get to you anymore, Starscream." Red Alert spoke in the same hushed tone, hoping to keep the seeker from getting too upset.

"I know. B-but then the memory changes and instead of him, it's Jetfire, or Optimus, or-or you."

Red Alert watched on in sorrow as Starscream brought up his knees, burying his head into his arms. He mumbled,

"I just want it to stop."

The medic sighed before sitting on the berth, pulling Starscream to his side.

"I know. We will get it sorted. But the dreams cannot harm you and you are safe here. We won't let any harm come to you. Primus, Scavenger would tear through anyone if they even dared to give you a funny look!"

He felt Starscream nod,

"I can give you a sleeping aid. I don't think it will help in the long run but if it gives you at least one night of undisturbed recharge, then that's better than nothing." After a thought, he continued, "Perhaps sharing a berthroom might help prevent the nightmares. If you knew someone was there, just maybe that will be enough."

Red Alert got off the berth to find the medication,

"It will be one vial, an hour before recharge. Find me before heading to your berth tonight, I will mix it up for you."

"Thank you"

"You are welcome. Now, off you go. I'm sure Hotshot would want a rematch of that game you two were playing yesterday."

Red Alert watched the quiet seeker leave,

 _"And I'll find Scavenger. I am sure he owes me a favour or two."_

* * *

Starscream returned to the base exhausted after his flight with Jetfire. His fans still whirred loudly, dragging in cool air to prevent him from overheating, as he walked towards the medbay with the shuttle.

"Might have pushed it too far tonight, Star."

"Yeah"

"Well, I shall see you tomorrow. Goodnight"

"Night" Starscream whispered as he opened the doors to the medical bay. He looked at Scavenger curiously, he was surprised to find him here.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were busy. I'll-"

"Not at all" Red Alert cut him off, speaking softly. The medic picked up the vial, optics softening as he noticed Starscream watching him anxiously.

"You look exhausted. I hope Jetfire isn't pushing you too hard." He smiled as Starscream shook his head, "Well I suggest you take this when you are in your berth, I don't want you dropping off in the halls."

Red Alert glanced over at Scavenger, "And you'll be sharing a room with Scavenger tonight."

"...excuse me, sir?"

Red Alert spoke softly, "remember when we talked about room sharing?"

The seeker nodded, taking hold of the vial,

"Yes sir"

Red Alert smiled at him, running a reassuring hand over his wings as he turned to follow the older mech into the hall.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Scavenger watched on amused as Starscream sat on the spare berth in his room, eyeing the vial with suspicion,

"Starscream," he hid a laugh behind a cough, "it won't just disappear if you keep glaring at it."

The red and white seeker groaned before knocking back the solution, coughing as he grimaced at the taste. Scavenger couldn't help but chuckle at the younglings' reaction,

"Well, at least it's gone now."

"But the taste isn't"

"Here, take some energon."

Starscream took the small cube gratefully. He watched the older mech settle himself on his own berth before picking up a datapad.

"What are you reading?"

"An old war novel from Cybertron."

The seeker sipped quietly at the cube, feeling anxious as his systems started to feel sluggish. He put the cube down on the table beside the berth, rubbing the back of his hand at his optics. He whimpered at the sudden dizziness, struggling to stay sitting upright. He jumped slightly when he felt Scavenger at his side. He looked to the older mech, struggling to make out what was being said.

"Hey, it's alright. Take it easy. It's just the recharge aid." He helped the youngling to lie down, "you must have been exhausted if it's affecting you already."

He ran his thumb over the seekers' cheek, wiping away a stray tear. He smiled sadly as he watched the orange optics flicker,

"Sleep now, Starscream. I'm here."

Scavenger sighed, relieved to see the seeker finally in recharge. He activated his communication link,

"Red Alert?"

"Scavenger. How is he?"

"That's him in recharge now. He was a bit distressed and tried to fight it but he went down quickly."

"That's to be expected. He was so tired, I didn't think it would take long for the medication to work. You can recharge now but keep an audio out in case he awakes. With some luck, that'll be him till morning."

"I will do. Goodnight"

"Night."

* * *

Luck was rarely on Starscreams' side.

 _Starscream sobbed as Megatron drew closer, red optics blazing, fist raised to attack the crying flier. He tried to get up to flee but his frame refused to move. He screamed when he was suddenly kicked in the stomach. He felt sick, curling into himself. He sobbed brokenly, "Scavenger...please..help" He looked up to find Scavenger at his side but his relief was soon replaced with terror as the mechs' optics shone with the same look of disgust and hatred that Megetrons' gaze held. He screamed when he felt a hand on his wing._

 _"Starscream, wake up" "Please Starscream! Come on" ""WAKE UP!"_

Starscream stuggled to awaken, his vison blurred, systems refusing to online. He could hear himself crying, feel himself fighting against the hands that shook him. He screamed as he was lifted from the berth. After what felt like an eternity, he could hear a voice ringing out through the confusion.

"It's okay, it's okay, hush now."

His throat hurt as he whispered,

"Sc-scavenger, he-help"

"I'm here, right here."

Starscream sobbed, wrapping his arms around the older mechs neck, burying his head under Scavengers' chin. Slowly, he became more aware. His imtakes hitched regularly, his face wet with tears. He clung to the mech as though he would disappear when he heard a knock on the door.

"It's okay Starscream."

Scavenger whispered through his comm link, picking up the frequencies of the mechs' that were gathered at his door,

"It's alright, go back to your berths." He could hear footsteps going down the hall but he knew which mechs' would refuse to leave. A voice came through his comm link,

"Scavenger?"

"Come in, Optimus, Red Alert."

The two mechs entered quietly, distress falling on their faceplates when they spotted Scavenger and Starscream. Red Alert looked anxiously at the berth the seeker had been recharging on. Scavenger answered the unaired question,

"He purged in recharge. I struggled to wake him. I think the sedative was too strong."

Red Alert nodded, feeling incredibly guilty. He looked to Optimus as he felt a hand on his shoulder,

"It's not your fault."

Scavenger adjusted his hold on the now limp seeker,

"I think he has fallen into recharge again."

Red Alert approached quietly, looking sadly at the tear stained face,

"He has." The medic studied the younglings' frame, "Bring him into your washracks. We might as well clean him up while he sleeps."

The older mech held the seeker as Red Alert wiped away the tears and energon, Optimus offering to clean up the soiled berth.

Scavenger carefully sat on his berth, his back resting against the wall. He gently moved Starscream so he was cradled against him, his head resting on his left shoulder plating.

"I think that will be him till at least morning, Scavenger." Red Alert said, standing up from examining the seeker, "When you awake, bring him to me."

"I will, Red. Thank you, you too Optimus."

"Get some recharge if you can Scavenger," he turned to his medic, "come Red, let's leave them in peace."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Scavenger awoke peacefully, looking down at the still recharging form of the seeker youngling,

"Starscream" he nudged him gently, "Starscream?"

The old mech sighed, getting up to carry the seeker to the medbay. Rounding a corner, he nearly bumped into Jetfire and Ironhide,

"Excuse us"

"Oh, hey Scavenger. Geez, what did you do to him?"

"Nothing Jetfire, he's recharging. I am taking him to medbay, let me through"

Adjusting Starscream gently, he managed to get the medbay doors open,

"Morning Red"

"Good morning Scavenger. Oh, set him down here. Has he awoken since last night?"

"Nope. I don't know whether that's a good or a bad thing though"

"Any signs of further nightmares?"

"None"

"Well, that's positive. At least he's getting some sleep. I'll leave him for a couple of hours and I'll wake him then."

"Good luck with that," Scavenger chuckled lightly, "I tried and didn't even get a peep from him."

* * *

Red Alert crouched by the berth Starscream lay on,

"Starscream," he rubbed at the seekers' arm, "it's time to get up. Come on, now"

The medic sighed in relief when he noticed a slight twitch in one of the fliers' wings. Moving to sit on the berth, he pulled Starscream up so he was sitting against his side, keeping an arm around him.

"That's it, wakey wakey." He smiled as Starscream groaned, his optics flickering. Red Alerts' attention was soon drawn to the door as Optimus walked in. He quickly greeted his leader before turning back to Starscream, noticing the glazed, orange optics observing him,

"Hey there, Starscream. You awake?"

It took a moment but Red Alert was pleased when the seeker managed to answer,

"Uh huh," he mumbled, "where 'm I?" he rubbed at one of his optics

"In the medbay. It took us some time to awaken you. I'm afraid I gave you too high a dose of that medication last night. Sorry Starscream"

"'s okay. Don't worry"

Optimus smiled softly as the groggy seeker,

"I am sorry to interrupt but I need you to watch the monitors. We are heading out. Someone- er something, appeared on our sensors."

"Of course, Prime." Red Alert helped the youngling to stand, "come on, you can continue to wake up in the monitor room."

* * *

"Here, Starscream" Red Alert passed a cube of energon to the seeker after he sat him on one of the couches before turning to the monitors.

"Is it Decepticons?"

Red Alert swallowed his anxiety before answering,

"I'm not sure yet, our sensors picked up a minicon signal, let's just hope they haven't spotted it yet."

The medic growled quietly as Laserbeak found Megatron and his soldiers in persuit of the signal too. He hastily updated Optimus on the Decepticons' position.

As they watched the resulting fight escalate, Starscream could feel his weapon systems warming up, the familiar fight or flight response running through his energon lines.

"I want to help"

"What?! No, Starscream" Red Alert quickly turned to give his full attention to the flier, "Once you are fully functional then fine but not at the moment. And certainly not with a sedative still in your systems."

Starscream dropped his wings low, backing off from the medic. Red Alert suddenly stopped his rant,

"Sorry, Starscream. I didn't mean to shout," he spoke softly, "Come, they are heading back to base. We shall meet them at the warp gate"

Starscream stood with Red Alert as Optimus hastily briefed them on how the mission went. They hadn't managed to get the minicon but Ironhide was able to land some serious damage on Megatron, yet hurt himself in the process. Red Alert rushed off to prepare his medbay for his patients. As most of his soldiers arrived through the gate, Optimus followed them down the hall. Ironhide was one of the last through the warp gate, Scavenger helping him to take most of his weight off of one badly damaged leg. Unfortunately, the injury had put the weapon specialist in a worse mood than usual. Starscream happened to look at the injury as the mech passed him causing Ironhide to snap,

"What are you looking at?!" he roared, pushing Scavenger off of him. The leg sparked in protest yet the much larger mech managed to stay upright. Starscream startled badly at the sudden shout, his wing uncoupling, bearing his weapon in an unwanted threat. The seeker prepared to flee as the irrate mech stepped forward. With one more step, a spark from the injury and a pained shout from Ironhide had Starscream spooked, transforming and taking off down the hall.

Rounding a corner, he was forced to transform abruptly, landing hard in front of the Autobot commander. Optimus recovered quickly, looking down at the seeker sitting on the floor,

"Whoa Starscream, what's the hurry?"

Before the spooked flier could answer, the two mechs turned their attention to the voices travelling up the hall. As Scavenger and Ironhide came into view, Starscream was suddenly up and behind the Prime in a flash of red and white.

"Wait. Starscream-" Optimus turned his questioning gaze to Scavenger, "mind explaining?"

"Ironhide spooked Starscream"

"He shouldn't have been staring" he sounded to be in a better mood,

"Tch, he was hardly staring Ironhide."

"Shut yer trap, Scavenger." With a pause, he continued, "Sorry, kid. I'm a grumpy old mech, I didn't mean to scare ya"

"Scavenger. Please assist Ironhide to the medical bay"

"Of course, sir"

Watching the two older mechs round a corner, Optimus turned his attention to the seeker, noticing his wings trembling. He spoke softly,

"Are you alright?"

"I am sorry, sir! I didn't mean to fly in the halls, I swear! I -"

He was suddenly pulled into a hug. He froze but soon relaxed,

"Hey, shh, it's alright."

Optimus released the seeker to look into the panicked optics, speaking in a near whisper,

"You want to come with me? I'm going to start debriefing of the troops."

Starscream nodded, his intakes slowing to a calmer pace, quickly following his leader down the hall.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

After the debriefing, most of the Autobots were in good spirits considering they had technically lost the recent mission. Starscream was confused to say the least. When the Decepticons' had lost, tempers ran on a short fuse and Starscream spent those days avoiding his commander and teammates, he certainly didn't hang around to enjoy their company. Looking around the rec room, he supposed the thought of little Decepticon activity for the next week or so was something to be cheerful about. The injuries his ex leader and teammates substained would take some time to heal, according to the reports. He focused on the scene in front of him. Hotshot and Sideswipe were talking excitedly with the human children as they played one of the video games. They had invited him over but for the time being, the seeker was content to watch from the couch with the datapad Scavenger had lent him. Optimus and Jetfire had gone off to discuss future battle plans and he assumed Red Alert and Scavenger were still in the med bay with Ironhide. He looked back down to the datapad but was soon interrupted,

"Hey, Starscream. What you reading?"

"Oh, hi Alexis. Just one of Scavengers' old datapads."

"Cool, I didn't know you liked to read."

Starscream shrugged, "I didn't get to before but it's enjoyable. Scavenger reads alot."

The red and white seeker nearly dropped the datapad as a voice called to him from the doorway,

"Sorry, I better go"

"No worries, Starscream. See you later"

Starscream felt nervousness creep into his frame as he followed Red Alert down the hall. The medic seemed to sense what he was feeling and spoke quietly,

"Don't worry, I just wanted a word about tonight. I didn't think you would appreciate it being talked about in front of the others."

Starscream nodded before taking a deep intake, "I-er, I don't want the recharge aid."

"Oh, no of course you don't. I was actually going to advise that you didn't take it tonight but I would strongly suggest you stay with Scavenger again."

The young seeker averted his gaze, clearly embarrassed about the whole thing but he nodded. Red Alert smiled before turning to walk down the hall,

"I must get back to Ironhide. It's difficult to get the stubborn old mech to stay put." he chuckled

"Erm, sir?"

"Yes, Starscream?"

"I-I was wondering if it would be okay if I went for a fly this evening with Jetfire."

"I'll say yes, Starscream but you'll need to get Optimus' permission too. Make sure you tell him I said 'yes'" the medic smiled

"Thank you"

"You're welcome"

* * *

Starscream took a deep intake before quietly knocking on the door to the Autobots' war room. He nearly flee'd when he heard a voice shout for him to enter. Swallowing thickly, he gently opened the door.

"Hey, Star"

"Hello, Starscream. What can I do for you?"

"Hello, sirs. I was wondering, if it was okay with you, that it would be alright if I went for a fly this evening" the seeker glanced at the shuttle, "with Jetfire."

Optimus nodded, "certainly. As long as Jetfire is fine with that."

"No problem, Star. I presume Red Alert finds you fit to fly?"

"Yes, sir. He said I was to say that he agrees to it."

"Great. I shall find you in a little while then, Optimus and I are just finishing off some plans."

"Thank you, sirs. Sorry if I interrupted."

"Not at all, Starscream" the Prime reassured him as he watched the young mech leave. Jetfire sighed once the door was closed,

"I really wish he would stop calling me 'sir' all the time"

"I know, Jetfire, but habits are hard to break and I don't want to risk upsetting him by confronting him about it."

"I know, Optimus. Perhaps I'll be able to mention it to him this evening."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Jetfire kept a close optic on his flying partner as the young mech flew above him, the seeker was eager to push his endurance levels.

"How are you feeling?" Jetfire called to him over their private communication frequency,

"I am good, sir"

"Starscream?"

"...yeah?"

"You know you don't have to call me 'sir' all the time, right?"

The seeker spoke timidly,

"Sorry. It's a habit. I don't mean to annoy you by it"

"No, no little star, I'm sorry" the shuttle quickly caught up to the smaller flier, "it doesn't annoy me. I just hate to think that you aren't comfortable enough to call me 'Jetfire'"

"It's taking some time but I am getting used to everything."

"I understand. Come, we better head back to base, it's getting late...race ya!"

"You're on, Jetfire!"

The two flight alt mechs panted as they transformed, arriving back at base through the warp gate. Jetfire deepened his intakes in an effort to cool his sytems and stop the panting.

"Don't tell Red Alert about our little race. I am sure he doesn't mean for us to fly like that when he says you are fit to fly" the shuttle laughed.

"Yeah but it feels good" the seeker yawned

Jetfire grinned, "come on, we better report back"

* * *

"Jetfire. Starscream. I assume your flying exercise went well?"

"Very well, Optimus" The shuttle turned to the seeker, "I'll see you later"

"You look tired, Starscream" The Prime stifled a chuckle as he watched the young mech try to hide a yawn, "I am going for a cube of energon, care to join me?"

"Sure"

Starscream sat at a table as the Autobot commander left to retrieve a couple of cubes. He looked up when he heard heavy footsteps entering the large room,

"Hi, Scavenger"

"Hey kid, you okay?"

"Fine, thanks" he took the warm cube from the Prime,"thank you"

"You're welcome. Hello Scavenger"

"Evening, Prime"

"Well, I shall leave you in Scavengers' company Starscream. Good night"

"Night"

"Good night"

The young seeker sipped at the cube quietly, unsure of what to say to the older mech. He jumped lightly as the large mech suddenly stretched,

"Well, Starscream" he yawned, "I am turning in for the night. Feel free to follow but you can wait up if you'd like"

Starscream found himself stifling another yawn, "I think I'll just come with you"

Entering the berthroom after Scavenger, Starscream sighed, quickly settling himself on his berth. He suddenly wasn't in the mood for small talk. He dimmed the light next to his berth before curling up on his side, facing the wall, his wings and cannons moving to lie flat against his back. He pulled the insulating tarp tight around him.

Scavenger watched the seeker from behind his datapad, he spoke softly,

"Good night, Starscream"

"night"

Scavenger sighed, sitting up more comfortably when he heard Starscreams' intakes deepen as he fell into recharge. The old mech had agreed to monitor the youngling after Red Alert had mentioned that he may have a plan to help their young seeker. The medic had asked him to take note of the time when the nightmares began and ended and he was told not to awaken him unless he became extremely distressed. Scavenger sighed once more, occupying himself with the datapad.

It wasn't long before Scavenger was disturbed from his reading. He quickly made a mental note of the time when he heard a faint whimper from Starscreams' berth. He watched in sorrow as the seekers' whimpers increased to soft sobs, his frame twisting to avoid his invisible attacker. At Starscreams' sudden, loud distressed cry, Scavenger quietly got of his berth, unable to watch anymore.

 _"To the pit with this. Red never said anything about not providing the youngling some comfort"_

Being careful not to wake him, Scavenger carefully lay beside the seeker, allowing Starscream to curl up against his frame. He softly whispered to the young mech, hoping to provide some comfort while Starscream fought through his night terror. His whines and cries threatening to tear at the sparks of whoever could hear him.

After what felt like an eternity, Scavenger noted the time as the seeker started to quieten, his intakes slowing to a near peaceful pace. Ensuring the youngling was recharging peacefully, the older mech dared to offline his optics, hoping to get some recharge this night.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

The wailing of sirens and red, dim lights flashing startled the old warrior awake. He jumped again when he saw the red and white seeker standing at the foot of his berth. He was staring at the berthroom door, frame rigid, his wing baring the handle of his weapon. The flier looked towards the older mech as he shifted quietly to stand.

"Quietly, Starscream",

Scavenger whispered as he slowly slid the door open, weapon bared. Starscream stayed close behind, listening intently. They froze when they came to a corner, hearing a thankfully, friendly voice.

"Jetfire," the older mech whispered, "it's us"

Rounding the corner, both mechs were pleased to find Jetfire leading an evacuation with Blurr, Hotshot and Sideswipe following him closely.

"What's going on?"

"Decepticons. They have attempted to attack the base again. The defences have got them occupied for the time being but I don't think it will be long before they make it through." The shuttle explained quickly, "now, come on. The warp gate is still clear, we need to get out of here!"

Scavenger pushed Starscream ahead of him, taking up the rear of the evacuation party,

"What of Optimus and the others?"

"I'm not sure. He gave me a quick order to get this lot out before communication lines were lost. I believe he is with Ironhide, Red Alert, Hoist and the minicons, they will meet us later."

* * *

Starscream shivered as they were transported into the thick forest not far from the base. The rain pelted down hard and a harsh wind blew up the dead leaves that lay on the forest floor. The seeker glanced around him, Hotshot and Sideswipe sat nearby, talking in hushed whispers, Blurr was standing a little further off and Scavenger and Jetfire talked amongst themselves, occasionally trying their comm. links. Starscreams' attention was suddenly drawn towards the hidden base, the flash of a warp gate catching his gaze.

"Hey, guys? A warp gate was just opened"

The others followed his gaze, jumping when Jetfire suddenly spoke,

"Sir! It's good to hear your voice," a pause, "I have Hotshot, Sideswipe, Blurr, Scavenger and Starscream. All is accounted for th-"

Starscream fought the urge to take flight and flee as a large explosion went off,

"Prime!" Jetfire growled, "get ready to fight"

Starscream snarled as Cyclonus suddenly flew overhead, "hey traitor! Long time no see!"

Starscream transformed swiftly, taking off to go after his once comrade.

"Come get me, Screamer!" Starscream growled, fighting to get a lock on the eratic helicopter.

A crack like thunder. Searing pain. The hard impact of the ground had Starscream suddenly grounded, hissing in pain, energon trickling from his back and wings. The familiar mech staring at him had the seeker scrambling to his feet, ignoring the pain and wetness on his wings. Starscream stepped back as the deadly familiar weapon rested in Megatrons' hand, it's blue glow spilling onto the ground like a waterfall. The sudden movement of the tyrants' arm had his once second in command leaping to the side, avoiding the attack, the crack of the whip echoing off the canyon walls.

 _"Scavenger!"_ He tried to transmit the private distress signal but communications seemed to be down once again. He snapped his attention back to the larger mech in front of him, snarling at the Decepticon commanders' laugh,

"It's funny how we become so dependent on our comm. systems, don't you think?"

Starscream threw himself to the right as the tyrant attacked again,

"a simple EMP can just about cripple the Autobot army! You can thank Thrust for that"

Starscream yelped as the whip caught the edge of his right wing. Megatron smirked, watching the energon drip from the fliers' wounds. He cracked the whip into the air, watching in delight as Starscream flinched violently,

"it's amazing how one, simple weapon can inflict such fear"

Starscreams' wings drooped, frame trembling, he turned as Megatron raised his hand again. The crack sounded yet he didn't feel the familiar pain as the whip split plating. He was surprised to find Scavenger standing in front of him when he slowly turned to look what had happened, the whip wrapped round the experienced warriors' arm. Scavenger ripped the barbaric weapon from the growling tyrant. Megatron yelled, preparing to launch an attack but was suddenly stopped by Jetfire who placed a gun to the Decepticons' head. Starscream watched as Optimus Prime and Red Alert appeared, dragging a displeased Demolisher and Cyclonus respectively. Megatron snarled lowly, glancing past Scavenger to glare at the young seeker. Noticing the Decepticon's gaze, Scavenger replied with a snarl of his own, his optics flaring dangeriously. With a final growl, Megatron sounded a retreat.

The Autobots sighed, slowly relaxing once the threat had vanished. Scavenger carefully approached to examine the young seeker, throwing the whip to the ground away from them. Starscream hissed in pain as Scavenger gently dabbed a cloth over the wounds, mopping up some of the spilt energon. Red Alert suddenly appeared at his side, running a soft hand over an undamaged edge of a wing.


End file.
